Annual Costa Layman Health Fair continues to deliver health care, hands-on experiences

Savannah Workman, a nursing student at Augusta University, participated in the Costa Layman Health Fair for the first time this year and was impressed with how so many disciplines came together to ensure farmworkers who experience tremendous disparity were getting the health care they needed.

Workman, currently enrolled in the Doctor of Nursing Practice-Family Nurse Practitioner program, was one of 25 College of Nursing students to take part in the 19th annual worksite program in Trenton, South Carolina.

Workman said she is originally from a rural area and is planning on going back and practicing back home when she graduates.

“This is really important and dear to my heart, and it’s a passion of mine to make sure that we’re serving these communities,” Workman said. “I’m very grateful for this experience. I think this is an experience that most schools probably don’t get, so being able to take what we’re learning in the classroom and applying it here has really made all the difference. They are learning from us just as much as we’re learning from them.”

The program provides health care access to farmworkers and serves as the banner for the College of Nursing’s public health efforts to reach many disparate populations. Pam Cromer, DNP, director of AU’s Costa Layman Outreach Programs, and Debbie Layman, a School of Nursing alumna from the Medical College of Georgia at AU, established and coordinate the health fair.

The event brings a multitude of interdisciplinary faculty and students trained in rural health care to support each individual farmworker in promoting prevention, as well as providing standard lab work analysis and appropriate referral services linked to the areas supported by the Federally Qualified Health Centers. This year’s focus was on diabetes risk assessment among the workers with an Institutional Review Boards approved study.

Sponsored by CON, students from the Augusta and Athens campuses, as well as faculty, alumni and other service lines were on hand, including the Dental College of Georgia, College of Allied Health Sciences, Georgia Cancer Center, Wellstar MCG Health Laboratory Services, the Ryan White Program, Interpreter Services, Critical Event Preparedness and Response, the Center for Undergraduate Research and Scholarship and University Libraries.

Rachel Dworaczyk, a student in the Master of Science-Clinical Nurse Leader program, is proud to be among those who support AU’s community engagement. She loves the collaboration and appreciates the chances to take the work she’s learned in the classroom and be able to apply it to real-life scenarios.

“You can only learn so much from a textbook, but coming here and being able to interact with the people in the community and practice our skills, really makes a difference and helps us to understand that this is really what we want to do,” said Dworaczyk, who has previously participated in another interdisciplinary program with the University of Georgia through AU.

AU’s College of Nursing Dean Beth NeSmith, PhD, noted more than 300 employees were cared for during this year’s event, one of two the college specifically sponsors for farmworkers of Costa Layman Farms. In all, the college has helped more than 7,000 farmworkers on-site while providing screenings such as glaucoma, bone density, dental and skincare.

“This event is one of my personal favorites that the college participates in because it is such an important event for the community,” NeSmith said. “The ability to provide a service that impacts both the short- and long-term health of our community members is a gift, and I am so proud of our students for taking this opportunity to practice their skills. I am always delighted by seeing the Augusta University colleges come together and work side by side in a true display of interdisciplinary partnership and care. I am eagerly anticipating Costa Layman’s 20th anniversary next year, and I am humbled to be part of such an important legacy.”